No Barren Moon
by Dragon-Sigma
Summary: Loki, expelled from Asgard and hunted by the Chitauri, is taken to the Avengers HQ by Thor, who convinces his friends to shelter the trickster god. But when the aliens come to claim their prey, what choice have the heroes but to comply? Follow-up to The Avengers, with some mythological references.
1. Chapter 1

Asgard, a fortress in eternal dawn. The mightiest of the living Realms, so say the gods and warriors who dwell here. The kingdom that has remained in relative peace for millennia, a peace once brokered through royal agreement and then purchased through genocide. The perpetrator of that unthinkable crime rides a black horse along a bright road at the outskirts of the city. He wears a green cloak over old riding clothes. Before him rides the world's prince and heir to the throne. A man who until recently he would have called his brother.

Thor turns his horse, and Loki draws his own to a halt behind the other god. They have reached the edge of the disk; beyond, the glittering length of the Bifrost stretches out into space until it falls away in a shattered edge. The two glance back at the spires of the grand palace they have left.

"Does he truly think there is any way to change what I am?" Loki scoffs, a hard edge to the words, "Better to be rid of the bastard son once and for all. I am certain that is his intention."

Thor turns to face him.

"I trust Father's judgment, Loki," he says, catching his brother's eyes so that he cannot look away, "After all, it was time among the people of Midgard that taught me the ways of the world." A moment of silence. "Be glad he is lenient for what you have done."

Leniency. Loki would not call it that. To send him to the realm where an angered population would wish no more than his destruction? The realm where his damaged army hunts him down, every second closer? It is no less than a death sentence. No, death would be preferable to what the Chitauri could do. Yet knowledge of that threat did nothing to sway the old King's decision. Perhaps it even forced it. Of course there would be no more fitting fate for the last of the Jotunn.

And the final humiliation: returned to the planet he tried to destroy to be guided into so-called goodness by the favored son. Given no chance to operate for himself! There can be no gain for Loki in this. It is only a punishment disguised as a cure.

The heir and the once-prince slide down from their steeds to the metallic ground, dust shifting under their boots. Out here, faraway stars illuminate the sky and many planets can be seen around them in their constant orbits. Thor looks upon it and sees the wonders of the universe; Loki sees only worlds that would never allow a monster such as himself to live. Worlds he would rule over if only he could. And a battlefield that the Chitauri will inevitably cross in their death-bringing ships. It is only a matter of time, he realizes, barely suppressing a shudder, until they find him.

Thor lifts his hammer from his belt. With the help of the energy his father has imbued it with for this task, opening a gateway to Midgard is simple. The two step away from their horses; the animals are intelligent, and can find their own way home.

The prince spins Mjolnir above his head on its leather strap, calling up a whirlwind. The starlight flickers as misty clouds appear and swirl together. The horses rear back and run towards the city.

With a crackling of lightning and thunder, a brilliantly-lit ring of energy forms in the tornado's cone, expanding until it encircles the two gods.

In the instant before the portal closes, the deathly croak of a raven can be heard.

The storm and the gods vanish. A black feather drifts to the gilded stones.

~o~

_The shadowed asteroid is hardly a planet, barely a world. Lit by one dim fading sun, it is but a moldering twig on the far reaches of the World Ash Tree._ _Its pitted desolate surface has seen many alliances struck between the legendary forces of chaos, and it is to be witness to one more deal. A pair of figures stand in a dusty crater beside a great cliff, the dying star's red light glinting off their armor, representatives for two of the many powerful species that wage battle across the universe._

_A metal-clad reptilian speaks in low, groundshaking tones. "The renegade god has failed us," it declares, "and these humans of Earth have decimated our armies with weapons we did not expect them to possess." The warlord does not wish another disaster. Nor does this leader of the catastrophic invasion wish to let the one who led the attack escape. In time, revenge will be had. Their promised fate for the halfbreed trickster._

"_Be assured that their weapons will be worthless against my forces," hisses a taller creature of a far different race. Its face is hidden by a jeweled helmet. A serpent winds around its neck and down scaled appendages that could pass for arms._

_The first warlord raises its arm, plates of armor shifting. Above its claws a green-illuminated hologram floats, an image of the last fool to seek a deal on this dead rock._

_"Find this weakling who called himself a conqueror, and bring him to our...justice. The Chitauri intent to uphold our bargain." _

"_It will be done."_

~o~

When the stormclouds slow their wild rotation and fade into the Earth city's pollution-laden air, Thor is relieved to find himself in a recognizable location; the balcony on Stark Tower, the building the other Avengers have made their home base. Pleased with the accuracy of the journey, Thor smiles to himself and flips his hammer in his hand. He turns to his brother to find that Loki's thoughts are unreadable.

The silence does not last long; within seconds alarms are going off inside the building. A security camera turns its glass head to observe the intruders.

"I cannot think that you would be so foolish as to believe they will approve of your plan," Loki says.

"Be patient," Thor rebukes, "They are good. They will listen."

Alerted by the loud alarms, the superhero team runs into the room, clearly coming from some sort of practice; they have their weapons but are wearing ordinary clothes. Steve is in front, holding out his shield to protect the others. Natasha aims a gun at the two gods, but lowers it when she recognizes Thor. She glares at Loki, confusion and anger showing on her face, and steps back beside Clint. He holds his bow at the ready even when the others partially relax. Bruce carries a data screen and a pen; whatever the team was rehearsing must not have included the Hulk. Steve looks back at his friends.

"What is this? Are they supposed to be here?"

"What do you think?" Natasha replies, annoyed, "of course _he's_ not!" There is no need to explain who she means. Steve returns to a battle stance and yells through the glass door.

"Thor! What-"

He is interrupted when Tony Stark strides into the room, holding a beer, seemingly unperturbed by the strange turn of events. He waves his hand across a glowing panel and the blaring alarms are silenced.

"You brought Reindeer Games!" he calls, waving the bottle towards Thor, "What, your own people can't handle him? Want us to beat him up again?" Loki bristles.

"Stark, what is this?" Steve says sharply, "And what are you doing? We were waiting for you to start!"

"We said we were practicing what to do if one of us was out of action, right, Cap? Somebody needed to take that role, so I chose to be generous." A few of the others roll their eyes. Tony looks towards Thor again.

"Seriously, why have you brought him back? I can think of, oh, a few million people who won't be happy about this." All the same, he instructs a computer to open the doors and allows the two gods to walk into the room.

Thor decides it is time to explain.

"My friends," he begins, securing the attention of the five disorganized heroes, "I have come to ask for your help."

"Help? For Loki?" Bruce asks, looking at the violent figure his alter ego had captured only the month before. Loki gives him an angry stare in return.

"Yes," Thor confirms. "My father-"

"The king of the gods," Tony adds. Steve looks annoyed at this comment but doesn't interrupt. Thor goes on:

"My father has heard of Loki's crimes, and has decided that it would be best for my brother to learn better ways from the people of Earth." A startled pause follows this. "And I agree, for, along with your strength in battle, I admire your inventiveness and your friendships."

_And your willingness to love,_ he adds in his mind, thinking of Jane and everything else he's seen in his short time in Midgard. Even the toughest soldiers had moments of warm compassion. So different from the formal relationships of his home.

"You want to keep him here?" Clint summarizes, incredulous.

"There's no way we're sheltering an enemy," Steve declares. The others nod in agreement. All but Bruce, who seems to be deep in consideration.

"That is my intent," Thor says, fearing for the first time that his plan may fail. He has thought of none other; his only hope for helping his brother lies with the Avengers. Maybe, he realizes with a painful jolt, these humans are not so noble as he perceived.

"We could do it. Lock him up, have the computers keep watch." Bruce's unexpected comment draws the attention of the team, who stare in disbelief.

"You know, Fury's gonna be _pissed."_ Natasha reminds them. Tony turns to her, then back to Thor and Loki, as the idea registers in his mind.

"Get him inside."


	2. Chapter 2

The other Avengers stare at Tony with varying degrees of disbelief.

"No, no, no, we're not helping that bastard." Natasha is adamant.

"Where would he _stay_? We need someplace secure," Clint challenges.

Tony is ready with an answer. "There's a second set of rooms on Thor's floor. I figured his girlfriend would want to live there, but she said, no, she'd rather stay in her dusty deserts. So I can just tell JARVIS to keep an eye on that little shit, and we're set. If he doesn't behave, we set the Hulk on him. Simple as that." Bruce flinches. Loki smirks at this, enjoying seeing weaknesses in the heroes.

"I seem to recall that _I_ am the leader of this team, Stark," Steve interjects, striding forward and staring down the shorter man, "And we are _not_ sheltering our first opponent in our base!"

Tony doesn't back down. "My house, my rules."

The arguing catches Loki's attention, and he speaks to the heroes for the first time since he and Thor arrived. "You are pathetic," he says, "I cannot see how you even managed to crawl out of the primeval ponds with those tiny minds you possess." He turns away. "The alien hordes are, at least, decisive."

"Aliens?" Bruce questions.

"My brother is pursued," Thor explains, "by-"

"The Chitauri," Natasha finishes, figuring out the answer.

"They seek revenge, " Loki says, staring at the sky as if he expects the warriors to arrive there and then, "Eternal torment, the norm for such creatures." Though he seems to dismiss the idea, Thor can sense the fear under the words.

"I'm not surprised," Clint responds. He's finally lowered his bow, seemingly accepting that Loki will not attempt a surprise attack.

Bruce steps forward. "Given the tech they had, I'm not liking the thought of that." He pauses. "Whatever they have planned, I think that's enough of a reason to give him a chance."

Steve realizes he can't argue any longer. He turns to Tony. "Fine, take him upstairs. But Director Fury is _not_ going to be happy..."

"I don't answer to Director Fury." Tony states firmly. He gestures towards Loki. "C'mon, Reindeer Games, let's get you settled." He walks out of the room. Loki makes a sound of disapproval, but follows, Thor walking behind.

The remaining Avengers stare after the three figures, and so Steve calls them back to attention.

"Well? We've still got training to do. C'mon, let's get this finished." Reluctantly, they follow him back to the battle simulation.

~o~

The team is in the midst of fighting off a giant sea monster when Tony and Thor return.

"Got that bastard locked up?" Natasha asks as she shoots several rounds of virtual ammunition into the creature's head. The holographic monster rears up and Thor tenses, ready to fight, before he remembers the situation is fictional. An illusion. Like those his brother was once so fond of.

"Yeah, he's set," Tony assures her, "I even got JARVIS to tag him with a tracking chip. Something SHIELD found in a vault of alien tech in Cardiff, I think. Tiny camera, instant transmission, even works in space. So we'll know if he tries anything."

Loki had not appreciated the bit of metal sewn into his tunic, but Thor had eventually convinced him to accept it as part of the arrangement.

"Good work, Stark," Steve yells over the monster's roars, "Now can you get suited up and into the game? Godzilla's not gonna wait!" The Captain takes a moment to wink at Clint, who had been showing him the famous movies he'd missed while in coldsleep. The archer nods back at him before firing what's supposed to be an explosive arrow into their enemy's eye. As he's told Tony many times, he's not too keen on the simulations. Real arrows have a feel that, he says, cannot be duplicated with computer code.

Thor enjoys the practices. In the few times he returned to Earth before the verdict was reached in Loki's trial, he grew to appreciate the virtual foes and weapons. Lies they may be, but useful lies that do no harm. A chance to fight a good battle with no chance of wounding a friend! He goes to a panel beside the door of the room, and logs into the game. A meticulously programmed replica of Mjolnir materializes in his hand. Thor raises his hammer and joins the fight.

~o~

"Brother," Thor calls into the darkness, "I wish to speak with you."

No reply. He had expected as much. He steps into the dim room Tony has allocated for their captive, cautious of any traps that might have been set. But there are none, and Thor realizes at once that he need not have been wary. The beating Loki took at the end of the battle and his humiliating imprisonment have driven the god to silent brooding anger. A far cry from the frightening fits of violence or emotion Thor had feared would result.

He looks around the room; Loki sits curled in a chair, staring at some scraps of robotics in his hand, far from his typical pride. He hadn't taken any of the garments offered, instead preferring to keep his Asgardian riding uniform. It is unsettling for Thor, who keeps expecting to see the brother he once knew, to find the mad god's cruel face in such familiar clothes.

It is so unlike him to be silent, not striking back with clever words. Thor has rarely seen him like this; often after a defeat Loki would be deep in some devious plot, or would have found an argument to fight. But the lost past is too painful to dwell on for long, and so Thor elects to return his mind to the present. He looks to his brother.

"I have instructed my friends to treat you well, and I can only hope they do so," he says, the only thing he can think of. What else is there to say? He is grateful that the team even considered protecting the man they had so recently fought. He cannot perceive Loki's thoughts on the matter.

It is a few long moments before Loki replies to Thor's words, and when he speaks he does not shift his gaze. "This...alliance you have," he begins slowly, "It will not last. It is not possible."

"Why should you say that, brother?" Thor asks him. It is a relief to hear him speak of things other than battle. Loki speaking of his own accord is the only chance Thor has, he supposes, of untangling the trickster's unfathomable mind.  
"How can it?" Loki replies, looking up, the merest hint of his old self in his strangely-earnest eyes, "They are all so...different. A woman. A man from the past. A man who is a monster." A slight sneer places emphasis on the final description. "Such a diverse group could never remain intact."  
"That is not true," Thor says cautiously, "Do you remember our warrior friends at home? A varied group, yet a brotherhood that has spanned centuries."  
"_Your_ friends," Loki scowls. "And they are all of the Aesir."  
Of course. This is not the brother Thor knows, but instead the far-changed man he met on his return from exile, obsessed with destroying all traces of the heritage he could not bear to accept. It has been so long since Loki was focused only on amusing games. When he was only a beloved annoyance, not a threat to three worlds, his family, and himself.

"You think me tame," Loki says after some time, "And you are wrong. I would have this planet in a heartbeat and spare no one my rule."

Thor cannot respond to this. Loki goes on: "It would be better, in the end. All this freedom they claim to possess...it can only lead to ruin. Fools should not choose their futures." He laughs coldly at the statement.

Finally, Thor finds words. "That is wrong. And you know that, brother."

"Do not call me what I am not." Loki looks up towards the ceiling, eyes focused not on the room, but on something within his mind.

"They will, in time, come. You cannot prevent that."  
"Those beasts from another world you brought to this planet?" Thor remembers the Avengers' victory and smiles at the thought. "We defeated them once. We can do it again." Sensing there is no more to say, he begins to leave the room. At the door, he turns back ands says firmly, "We will protect you. I promise you that."  
"I doubt it."

~o~

A few days pass uneventfully. The team continues to train, although for most of the time it's been the same scenario, due to their frequent coffee and snack breaks. A paused army of terrorist insect-drones hangs in the air for hours at a stretch. Tony doesn't bother to power down the virtual reality simulator; after all, the Arc Reactor offers near-unlimited electricity. Thor checks on his brother several times a day, causing Tony to fuss over the security systems each time. The rest of the team stays away from Loki's room, whether consciously or unconsciously avoiding the cruel trickster. The first to approach, about a week after the god's arrival, is Natasha.

It's a simple test, to see if Thor's perception is as weak as that of humans. Take something of his, see how long until he notices. Practice for them both, so she thinks, as she pads down the hallway. Natasha glances around, noting a dent in the wall here, a spot of worn flooring there, a raven perched outside the window... she takes a second look, and the bird is gone. No matter.

She peers around a corner and sees the body on the ground. Clint, Hawkeye, dead, his neck broken and blood on the ground around his head.

She is too well-trained to scream. With only her eyes showing her horror, she stares at her dead teammate only a moment. Abandoning her self-assigned mission she calls to JARVIS.

"What happened here!"

The AI's ever-steady voice answers her instantly.

"Please remain calm, Miss Romanov, this is merely an image. Clint Barton is currently working with Mr. Stark and Mr. Banner in the weapons lab."

The archer's body vanishes in a blue glow. It does nothing to help her racing heartbeat. Natasha can hear Loki's vicious laugh from behind the door.

"Love," he calls to her, "is the easiest thing of all to manipulate."

Not even attempting to keep the anger out of her voice, the spy commands the computer to call a meeting.

~o~

The flying aircraft carrier that is the heart of SHIELD's defense network hovers steadily above the ocean, the turbines shifting constantly to hold it in place. Director Nick Fury prefers to keep the Helicarrier offshore to avoid too many questions from curious citizens.

The United States has been on high alert since Loki's failed attack, requiring that the ship remain in flight. Fury prefers flight to sailing anyway; it allows a better view. And the scientists and soldiers on board seem to take their jobs more seriously in the air than they do on the sea.

Today, the skies through the massive windows are clear: no evil aliens invading, no mutant monsters attacking, no egomaniac nutjobs trying unsuccessfully to take over the world. Safe. Boring.

The Director paces across the flight deck, yelling at the workers as he walks. Though there is no threat to fight, they must remain on-task, monitoring the planet. Not playing games or chatting with friends. He hopes the Avengers have a better work ethic, although he highly doubts that to be true. The training exercise he set them is supposed to last a few hours; knowing them, it will probably be weeks before it is completed.

Fury approaches a screen and calls the proper page from the network onto the display. Nothing new, no messages from the team of superheroes. He curses under his breath. Stark should have sent in at least a full page worth of updates by now. If he's even acknowledged the mission.

"Has Tony Stark signed in at all this week?" The console flashes; not the answer he was expecting.

"What _now?_" Fury taps a blinking notification on the screen, and a young technician's worried face expands to fill the panel.

"Director Fury, sir," he begins, "we've received a communication from an extraterrestrial envoy. They've...they've got several ships in orbit around the planet." To accompany these words, a spinning blue hologram floats up from a glass lens, the laser-light forming a globe. Blinking red dots mark the alien craft hovering in place over the continents. Damn. Peaceful day gone.  
"Have you contacted any world governments?" Fury remains calm even in the face of this shocking news. After all, he's used to it.  
"No sir. But they'll know soon enough." In the back of the frame, scientists congregate around floating panels of data, flicking documents back and forth and typing madly into the interface. An unexpected event, certainly, but this is what SHIELD was created for.  
"Do we have an identification on these aliens?" the Director asks.  
"Nothing we can translate, sir," the tech replies, glancing for a moment at some offscreen object, "but there's a few mentions of the attack last month..." He taps the screen a few times and several photos appear on the console. A few blurred images of armored reptilian aliens, and a picture of a vast flying beast, light scattering on its layered metal shielding.  
"_Shit._ Loki's mercs," Fury growls as an agent calls the tech out of shot, "I would have thought that bastard had learned his lesson about attacking us!" He leans his hands on the interface, calling up files on the six Avengers. A breaking news broadcast pops up alongside the documents, adding the sound of the newscaster's fearful yet steady voice to the hum of technology from the console. Fury mostly ignores this; after all, SHIELD would know of any action on the part of these aliens long before the public networks. Even a violent attack would be seen by satellites-or from the deck of the ship-before reporters could get on the scene. He catches a few words: 'unidentified flying objects'-'several cities'-'no word yet from the military'-'contact has not been made'...  
An electronic beeping starts up from somewhere behind Fury. A communications manager hurries across the flight deck, and holds out a phone to the Director.  
"Sir, that's the Pentagon on the line. They want to know-"  
"What's going on, yes," Fury finishes, "Tell them I'm damn _busy._ I can't be bothered with their concerns now, I've got a planet to defend."  
"Yes, sir." With no choice but to obey, the man awkwardly walks away.

Moments later, the tech reappears on the blue-tinted screen. He holds a panel in his hand; a line of text scrolls across it. A communication from the aliens.

"What is the message?" the Director demands.  
"They seem to want some sort of a trade...a deal."  
"That's unlikely," Fury nearly laughs, "We don't deal with crazy aliens. What is it that they want?"  
The tech nervously clicks a few keys at his screen, and an unearthly voice booms over the speakers:  
"_**The captive god for the safety of your people**__."_


	3. Chapter 3

"He's dangerous! We shouldn't be helping him," Natasha yells, "And in case you've forgotten, he wanted to kill us!"

The six Avengers sit at a table outside the training room. Normally, this place is used for planning imaginary strategies; today they debate reality.

Thor tries to calm them. "Please, my friends, take this as a joke and nothing more. It is in his nature-"

"To be an asshole? Yeah, we've noticed," Tony finishes.

"To play tricks," Thor corrects, firmly.

Clint doesn't agree. He sits by Natasha, although she doesn't let him touch her. "It was a threat," he says, "clear as that. A threat."

"I will speak to him. This will not happen again."

"We gave him a chance, and clearly we were wrong," Steve argues, "But what can we do now?"

Bruce is quiet, thinking; it is all he can do to remain calm. He doesn't like the idea of abandoning Loki after they'd agreed to protect him, but he can't allow threats against his teammates. He lets debate go onwithout his input.

Tony is the one to offera solution: "Thor here can take him back to Fairyland."

Thor shakes his head. He decides not to take offense at the insulttohis home realm. "The Aesir will not accept his return so soon."**  
**"Take him to another fucking planet, then!"**  
**"Can you do that, Thor? It would be for the best," Bruce says, quietly, trying to calm the group. The others know he wishes for the most peaceful resolution possible. On some level they all hope for that. Even assassinstireof bloodshed. **  
**"I cannot," Thor replies with a heavy sigh, "I know of no other realm that will accept him."

"So what do we do?" Steve repeats, voicing the question they all needanswered

~o~

"What?" the tech exclaims, confused, "Do you know what they mean? Sir," he adds quickly.

"I have an idea," Director Fury says slowly, "and I don't like it. Link me into the audio."

The tech turns back to his screen and types a few commands.

Fury's attention is centered totally on the displays. Around him, the flight deck has gone silent at the alien message, apart from the constant buzzing of technology and the muffled roar of the engines. Some of the new recruits stare, frozen, at the Director. Others, mostly those who experienced the last attack on the ship, pull them back to their work.

"The connection has been made, sir," A new window jumps up on Fury's screen: a direct line to the alien leaders. He taps the screen to activate the comm.

"Explain yourself," the Director demands. He is cautious, not wanting to anger the aliens. If they will leave without doing harm to the people or to the planet, that would be worth this tense exchange. Though, Earth's pride must be kept strong in this large universe, and a submissive agreement would not do to help that.

"We have no captive god on this planet," he continues, each word clear, keeping his good eye on the screen while he speaks.

The system crackles and the alien voice again sounds out across the room.

_"__**Do not lie. We seek Loki the Trickster**__. __**He is here**__._"

Fury is silent for a few moments. Then:

"Damn. I can't believe..." He switches off the comm and turns to an agent. "Get me Tony Stark."

~o~

"Sir, there is an urgent communication from Director Fury," JARVIS says, breaking into the fight. "He requires your immediate response." The Avengers sit up and look around at each other, wondering what could be so serious. Surely not another alien attack...

"That can't be good," Natasha comments as Tony approves the link to SHIELD. A panel leaps into glowing life as the Director begins speaking.

"I'm sure ol' Fury's just run into something small. Maybe another copycat hero," Tony laughs, disregarding the first words of the message.

"What? That's nothing to joke about!" Steve complains, alert.

"Stark! Rogers! You could at least pay attention!" Fury yells. Steve gives Tony a glare and looks at the computer. "We got a problem, sir?"

"I'm telling you we've got a problem! Those aliens are back, or at least their cronies are." The Avengers all jump up at this. Pulling over a blue pad, Tony starts typing out commands.

"I'm sending you the data now," the Director says.

"Already got it!" Tony calls, the flashing hologram spinning out from his screen. Fury makes a sound of annoyance but doesn't argue the matter. Stark getting into SHIELD files might not be the worst thing possible at the moment. Certainly not an issue to push during this crisis. He'll take up the issue with the tech department later...if there's any tech department left. Whoever these aliens are, he doesn't think they'd leave easily without doing harm.

"They say they want Loki," -a collective shiver goes around the table-"and will destroy nine cities if he is not found. Are you sheltering an enemy of the Earth?" The superheroes are silent a moment, staring in disbelief.

"I _told_ you this would end badly" Natasha growls. Steve speaks up:

"Yes, sir. We are." His time in the military has made him honest to superiors.

"What are we running here, a supervillain babysitting service?" Fury bellows, "Get that bastard in sight of those spacecraft _now,_ before they decide they don't want to wait around! We've got fifty-four million people at risk!"

"We don't have a choice. There's no way to take him anywhere else now," Clint states, looking to see if the rest of the team agrees.

"No! We must not! These creatures would bring horrors upon him." Thor is horrified, yelling, not wanting to believe this turn of events.

"It's the only way, big boy," Tony says casually, waving his hand in a gesture that hides his own stress. Thor's known him long enough to know that though the man does not show his emotions, he feels them strongly. Bruce and Steve nod in assent

"Fifty million of our people for one intergalactic criminal? You would make that choice?" Clint says, narrowing his eyes in disapproval.

"He is my brother!" Thor protests, slamming the table with a fist. He's losing ground. There's no way he can convince the Avengers to protect their greatest enemy any longer.

"Your world in the balance and you bargain for one man?" Natasha quotes. Loki's words for once ring true, more so now than when he spoke them. It would be suicide to protect the renegade further. Fury, Natasha, and Clint accept this fact easily; for the others, with their inconvenient compassion, it is more difficult.

Thor steps back, defeated, bowing his head in a futile attempt to hide the pain wrought on his features. He can't allow his friends' planet to be attacked, even for Loki's sake. Steve activates the comm.

"We're agreed, sir."

~o~

It is as Loki thought: of course these pitiful humans could never stand against a proper attack. And of course they would not shelter a killer and an enemy when offered the choice between him and their own; nobody would. He himself would have thrown the victim to the invading armies without a thought, or used the prisoner as bait in a wild chase across the Nine Realms. Entertainment, it would have been, in that long era before he fell into the aliens' world and became enmeshed in their plot.

There shall be no chase here. Only the exchange and then the endless torture he had attempted to flee. Delivered to the Chitauri warlords and their horrors by these mercenaries to whom the Avengers so willingly hand him.

So now, standing again on the balcony of Stark Tower, Loki has no other choice. The Avengers stare, watching him and waiting for the aliens to accept the bargain. They are wary, as if they expect him to be ready with a plan, with a trick, some sly game to escape his fate. No such luck.

The god turns back to them, and the fear in his eyes has been replaced by malice. Then, with a look at the pain clear on Thor's face, he smiles in a grin befitting a devil.

"So it seems I have at last struck against you," Loki declares, cold. He glances up a moment, watching as the alien craft descends from the clouds. "It is your weakness, God of Thunder, this _sentiment,_" he spits the word, "and how you allow it to torment you."

A victory, one small victory to take with him into the depths of space. If he is allowed the dignity of thought. The spaceship comes closer; there is no doubt now of its intent. The roar of engines sounds above his head, and a machine like a snake fang on the edge of the ship glows with energy.

Then, with a shimmer like one of his own illusions, the trickster is gone.


	4. Chapter 4

The Avengers have gone back to their own lives. They are quieter than usual, and without any enthusiasm to continue battle practice, they seek distraction in other things. Nobody has spoken to Thor since the exchange; nobody could find the words even if they wanted to. So they attempt to avoid him, becoming immersed in their tasks.

~o~

It is the way of a spy to have no doubts. Natasha certainly doesn't entertain any. So what if their dangerous guest faces some unknown punishment from those aliens? It's no more than he deserves for attacking Earth, for killing so many. A good way to have revenge without getting more blood on her hands.

She aims her twin guns at a hovering target and fires. The wooden head snaps off with a satisfying crack, and robots scurry to pick up the splinters. No virtual monsters today. Real targets, real bullets. Another half-dozen shapes swarm towards her. She spins around and shoots all but one down. An arrow streaks down and takes out the last target. Natasha looks up to see Clint, who winks at her. She scowls, she didn't need the help. He jumps down from his perch and goes over to the computer, typing a program into the console. Robotic targets drop down from the roof, and the two prepare their weapons for the game.

~o~

"Hey, Green Giant, can you get the reading off the spectrometer over there?" Somehow, Tony can build and fly around in a metal suit, but is too lazy to walk across his lab to find out the results of the tests on the Chitauri armor.

Bruce is used to the 's better than people avoiding the subject of what he is altogether. He walks over to the machine and pulls the data onto a movable screen.

"This is interesting... several forms of carbon, and an element I don't recognize. Some of the samples are coming up as organic!" He holds out the data panel and points at the relevant section.

"Meaning it's cybernetic in origin," Tony finishes for him, "I expected that. Now I just have to make it useful for me."

"You," Steve Rogers says as he walks into the room, "need to learn to share your stuff. We're a team."

"Yeah? And who put you in charge, Captain Baseball?"

Steve angrily pulls off his hat and throws it at the inventor. "I think you'll find you did, Stark."

"Sure, if you're so in charge, what should we do next with this sample?"

"We can work this out without fighting-" Bruce starts, but the other two ignore him.

"You could... reverse the polarity of the neutron flow?" Steve tries not to show how confusing the gadgets and tools still are to him. Even after the super-serum he focused not on the science that made him, but on the war he was created to fight. Or at least, the propaganda performances the government told him to do. He's still glad Tony hasn't had the time to find those videos.

"Neutrons don't have a polarity," Bruce tells him gently.

"And that's why you should leave us science people to work," Tony tells him, "Go find a baseball to bat around or something."

"Fine." Steve turns and leaves. He won't push the problem of teamwork now. Maybe later, when they next have a chance-and the proper mindset-to practice.

~o~

Thor cannot rest, and he cannot yet consider returning to Asgard alone. He has lost both his brother and the integrity of his realm. To have allowed those creatures to take one of their own, even a criminal, is a disgrace. But what is there to do?

Steve emerges from the lab, his annoyance clear in his harsh steps.

"If I could only know what is happening! To guess in the dark! This is not to be borne!" Thor says, claiming the man as his audience.

"There's no way we're gonna know," Steve says tersely, "And don't think you'd want to know. Who can guess what those creeps are up to? Be glad it doesn't involve this world anymore."

Thor stares at him at the idea; how can he be so joyous? His surprise irritates the Captain.

"We're never going to know!" Steve yells, "I can't exactly see the entire universe!"

And something the God of Thunder should have thought of long ago comes to his mind.

"There is one who does."

~o~

_All is dark, Loki observes, when there is a world around him to be observed. And he is chained in this cold darkness and for some unknowable reason he thinks of snakes and fangs and venom. He twists his arms, pulling at the bindings but succeeding in no more than tearing skin that would otherwise be invulnerable to all but mere scratches. What is this? He can only wait, and dread what the aliens have planned for him. _

_Would it have been better, had he never discovered his heritage? Continued to live the lie that was his life, continued to slink in his brother's shadow? Never had even the temporary victories he had gained, at Jotunheim, on Earth? The answer to that is clear the instant the question enters his mind._

_The serpent hisses. A drop falls._

_All thoughts are lost in screams. _

~o~

The storm around Thor clears, and he can see his home world. Asgard's spires stretch to the open sky as they have for millennia. The departure of the two princes has changed nothing in the noble city's image. Why get his family involved? Would they even help? Not after Loki brought the Jotunn into Asgard and nearly destroyed both worlds, then brought a new army to Midgard. Thor is certain. He turns away from the city, towards the constant starry darkness outside the kingdom.

The all-seeing guard stands his solemn watch at the ruined Bifrost. The architects of Asgard have yet to work out how to use the Tesseract to repair the shattered bridge to other worlds. Transport with the device is possible, of course, but most prefer the old methods. If they travel at all; the Asgardians are a stubborn sort who avoid other worlds if they can.

Thor approaches the gatekeeper, who greets him with a nod. Heimdall has been expecting him, of course, from the moment Loki was taken.

"You seek knowledge of your brother," he states, before Thor can bring himself to ask.

"Search for him. Tell me what you see."

The Gatekeeper stares into the swirling mists. Finally, he speaks.

"Loki is imprisoned on a dead planet far from here. He is kept in constant agony, chained beneath a serpent that drips venom on his face." It is said as a fact; no sympathy or condemnation shows in the Gatekeeper's gold eyes.

Thor looks away, tries to comprehend the horror of that idea.

"This cannot be allowed," he says at last, "No matter what Loki has done, he does not deserve such a fate."

It is not Heimdall's place to judge. "You would be wise to know that this is the fate assigned to him in the legends of Earth. Sometimes storylines reverberate in ways even I cannot predict."

This means nothing to Thor.

"But what can I do?" he asks, hopelessly. "I must have allies if I am to help him. My friends will not listen to mere words. How am I to convince them of this horror?"

"You have a device to see across space, do you not?"

"What do you mean?" Thor asks, confused, before stopping to think. Then he remembers; Tony had taken great enthusiasm in describing the chip of alien tech he had attached to Loki's cloak.

"I understand. And to reach him, when I have rallied my friends?"

"Have you so soon forgotten what you retrieved from Midgard?"

The Tesseract. Of course.

~o~

Tony Stark lounges on a couch, watching a car race on television. Thor ignores this, though he wonders why anyone would wish to race such awkward steeds. Horses are far preferable. This is one of the few times Thor has seen Tony not hard at work upgrading his suit or building other devices that Thor cannot fathom the use of. He scowls at the his friend's carefree demeanor, at the various snacks on the table. Tony looks up, and offers the god a bowl of Doritos.

"Hey man," he says, and adds more urgently, "Sit down! This is just getting good! Keep your eye on the second car. I'm trying out a new blend of polymer for the tires. He should be able to pull ahead of the others in, oh, three minutes; they're still on the traditional mixture."  
The colorful shapes speed around on the screen, the same chaos Thor sees in most Earth sports. At least the heroes he works with know how to fight properly. Still, he cannot understand their fascination with simply _watching_ these wild contests from a camera's eye.  
Tony checks a smaller, blue-glowing screen sitting beside him. He flicks a few bits of text out of frame and pulls up what seems to be a description of the new invention. As if everything was normal in Stark Tower. As if they hadn't just failed the one they had agreed to protect.  
Thor glares, disbelieving. "You expect me to remain here, and...and..." He throws down the chips, prompting a puzzled look from Tony, "_feast_, while my brother lies in torment at the hands of those creatures?"  
The Iron Man is nonchalant. Arms crossed behind his head, he keeps his gaze on the race. "Yeah, that's typically what you _do_ when you defeat the bad guys, you know, relax. I'd say we're having a pretty good day. But, if you're determined to help that asshole in leather pants, you can wind yourself up all you want."

"He is family!" the god protests, moving to stand between Tony and the giant television screen. When the mortal tries to peer around him, Thor slams a fist into a control box and the screen goes dark. He picks up the smashed device to be sure Tony can't have his strange robots fix it.  
"Not going by those Grimm Brothers stories you told us, he's not," Tony counters, placing his full attention, with some annoyance, on Thor. Yes, the god had told his fellow Avengers of his brother's past; he had felt it only right for them to know exactly who they had fought. And the tale, though difficult for him to tell, had silenced many of the crude comments that had tempted Tony. It had worried Thor, and still does, to think that these people of Earth would not respect their enemy, as he had been taught always to do on Asgard. If only these humans had grown under the guidance of a wise king, as he himself had.  
The tense silence is eventually broken by the electronic voice of JARVIS. Thor still hasn't gotten used to the disembodied advice, and wonders how Tony and the others can treat it so casually.  
"Sir, the concept of 'family' is just as often a social construct as a biological one-"  
"Nobody asked you, JARVIS," Tony reprimands the ceiling. The AI falls silent.  
"Your faceless assistant speaks truth," Thor tells him, willing him to understand. But Tony Stark remains unmoved.  
"So this is how you think," Thor says, cold, crushing the electronics in his hand and tossing them aside in a sparking ball of wires and plastic. "I did not think Earth customs could be so brutal. Are you not proud warriors?"  
Tony sits up and looks Thor in the face. If there is any sign of compassion for their once-prisoner in him, Thor cannot read it.  
"We're warriors who win. And, lemmie check, oh yeah, we've done that already."  
"A true warrior," the god declares, turning away from his teammate, "despises injustice and cruelty, whomever the victim! You disgust me with these words." He stares for a moment into thin air, thinking.  
"Assemble the others," he continues with distaste. "You are not the only one that requires some sense."

~o~

_The pain fades, slowly, slightly, at least enough to allow the chained god thought. And Loki wishes it had not, for even the depths of mindless agony were not so unbearable as this._ _Full consciousness with naught to distract him in the dark from the pain and the failure and the knowledge that all of eternity will be spent in this state. Alone in this cold cavern but for the serpent in the stony heights above his head and a fleeting image of another world, of wolves and death, of a mistletoe spear and a woman with a bowl. _

_Venom gathers ceaselessly at the snake's fangs. Somehow Loki, bound helpless and writhing under the beast's jaws, can sense each burning drop as it forms._

_And though he would welcome it,_ _he can find no refuge in madness; he is now and forever impossibly sane._ _And with that clarity comes the realization that things could never have gone differently. He'd been a fool to think he was unloved. He could have remained on Asgard, a prince, but still the lesser. Yet he'd been a fool to think he could ever be equal. There can be no place for a Jotunn trickster in the halls of the Aesir. And even among his own kind he would be an outcast, a bastard. That final knowledge, beyond any hopeless notions of proving himself, burns as much as the pain. And he is now to eternally suffer in the irony of it all. _

_Venom splashes on his skin, and again he is lost in agony. _

_Such is the fate of a fallen god. _


	5. Chapter 5

"This better be good," Clint growls, "I'd rather be on a mission. If there's one thing Fury doesn't do, it's mess around with the target."

"Says you, Mr. 'I'm-starting-to-root-for-this-guy'," Tony snarks, unable to resist the opportunity and getting a glare for the joke.

The Avengers have gathered once again. Not the way they planned on spending the day, but then again they hadn't planned on any of this. Housing their first and worst enemy in their own base, having him taken by an alien fleet: it seems nearly as unimaginable as the team's gathering itself.

Tony flips a bit of tech in his hands and looks up at Thor, the only one who hasn't sat at the table. "So? I mean, as if we don't already know what you're gonna say."

"Your crazy brother? He tried to kill us. I'm not about to feel sorry for him," Natasha comments coldly.

Bruce shakes his head sympathetically "There's nothing we can do. You have to give it up."

Thor sighs, then stands straight and determined.

"I will show you what my brother suffers, in the hopes that it will sway your hearts."

"And how're you gonna do that?" Steve questions. Thor gestures towards Tony.

"Mr. Stark, will you show us the visions of the metal eye you gave to Loki?"

"The tracker chip?" Tony says, leaning back in his chair to look up at Thor. "Might work, but if there's nothing we can do I'd say you don't look at it."

"Do it. Show me. It will be better than not knowing...and it might encourage you to assist me."

"If you really are so concerned, why don't you just run off and save the bastard?" Clint grumbles under his breath. Thor stares at him, offended.

"Do not call my brother such! And I would not be such a fool to start a quest without allies!"

Natasha rolls her eyes. Thor hefts up his hammer and points it at Tony.

"Show us the visions!",

"Fine, fine, big boy," Tony says, waving his hands around in what he seems to think is a calming gesture. "Jarvis! Can you give me a feed on the Torchwood thing?"

"Tracking signal now, sir..." the AI replies. A few seconds of silence. "Link established."

The big screen on the wall in front of the table flashes into life, and the team sees the scene from another planet. The image, lit dimly from the device's sensors finding what wavelengths they can, silences them. The view shakes wildly, but they can hear screaming and catch glimpses of a fanged monster and Loki's terrified, burned face.  
Jarvis cuts the signal and the screen goes blank.  
Memories of similar dark caves threaten at the edges of Tony's mind. He fought so hard to stop such torture on Earth, but never expected to even think of challenging the same thing on other worlds.  
"This isn't right!" Steve yells, slamming his fist on the table, on his feet before he realizes he's stood up. Around the table, the rest of the team has reacted with varying degrees of horror. Natasha and Clint shake their heads sadly as if they see this sort of thing every day, which they probably do. Bruce has his head down and his eyes closed. Tony is staring at the screen with wide eyes, uncharacteristically still. It takes the soldier a moment to think back to the SHIELD archives and remember why such a scene would be familiar to his friend.  
"We can't allow this," Bruce says, calm but firm, bringing Tony back to the present.  
"It's monstrous," Steve declares, "He's a bad guy, sure, but at least we can treat him humanely."  
"In case you haven't noticed, he's not human!" Natasha protests.  
"And neither am I," Thor booms. He waves his hammer at Steve, "I stand with your Captain. This horror must not be allowed to continue."  
Tony looks right at him and responds in a voice far calmer than Thor has ever heard. "I've seen men after that sort of thing. Hell, I've been one. And I'm telling you, you might not like what you're gonna find out there. Given what we've just seen I'd say you're not going to get the same guy." But he knows that determined look on Steve's face far too well.  
"Just promise me one thing, okay? That you'll never tell anyone about this. It wouldn't help my image, ya know, rescuing the bad guys?" He stands. "Now then, how are we going to do this?"

~o~

"This is worse than being drunk," Tony groans as the dust clears under a vast, empty sky. A few distant stars can just be seen in the darkness. "And I know a lot about being drunk. Comms still working?" He checks the suit's display.

"Turn it off, I can hear you anyway," Clint says. He hops a few times on the strange planet's rocky surface, testing the gravity, then fires an arrow at the outside of a massive cave. He watches its trajectory with a frown.

Thor strokes Mjolnir, which is still glowing faintly blue, and looks around proudly. "You should be pleased!" he says, "I have never before made such a distant journey! The power of the Tesseract is indeed useful."

"Yes. Thank you," Steve says, "Now. Let's get this over with."

"Me 'n Widow will watch for aliens. I'm not too happy about this whole thing. Not gonna mess with the crazy." Clint's in Agent mode, which includes codenames.

"So that leaves the rest of us to get Loki and get out." Bruce, having adamantly argued against using the Hulk in this mission, carries a case of medical supplies. What use they'd be on Asgardians, he is unsure, but his conversations with Jane have led him to assume that their biology is similar enough to work with.

Cap salutes the two agents and leads the rest of the team into the cave. Tony walks beside him, a bit annoyed at being used for illumination. But the suit is easier than carrying flashlights or goggles, so he doesn't complain more than he did during their planning..

They walk a few more minutes, and soon they can hear screams. If Tony is shaking slightly at the enclosing cave, his suit hides it.

And then they come into an open space and see Loki and the snake before their eyes.

Tony lifts his armor-clad arm and snatches the serpent from its stony perch. He throws the sinuous, hissing creature into a corner of the cavern and without a pause kills it with a blast from his glove. Even when the beast is dead, smoking venom still leaks from its fangs to the blackened rock.

With the deed done, Steve and Bruce approach Loki only to back away in horror.

The god is stretched out on the rock, still thrashing though no more venom falls. His face is bloody where the venom has burned through the skin, and his eyes are now empty of their usual malice, showing only pain and pleading. The three humans move aside to the cave's wall and allow Thor to move forward.

Thor takes his hammer to the chains that still bind his brother to the cold stones. A yelp of fear escapes the tortured god as the weapon comes crashing down.

Loki is quickly freed, yet still shivers and whimpers in pain. Doctor Banner offers his friends an apologetic glance and hurries to the god's side, fumbling with a medical kit in his hands. Thor steps back; he trusts the compassionate man to do what he will.

The anguished cries cease, replaced by gasping breaths. Bruce-Thor offers a silent blessing to the man-has injected Loki with something to take away the worst of the lingering pain. The trickster lies, weakened, on the stones beside the broken chains.

_Loki hopes that this dream ends soon. It is too much to think that he is free. And if he is, what is it the Avengers want of him? _

"You would make a deal?" he hisses when he can breathe steady again, his voice clear despite the drug.

"No, Loki, I only wish to bring you home safe. Be quiet now." Thor realizes the irony of the last statement only too late, and wishes he had not said it. It had been his and his father's disregard of Loki's words that had led him to doubt. Thor lays a hand on his brother's shoulder in an attempt at a calming gesture, but Loki only pulls away from the touch with what little strength he still has.

Suddenly, a sound and a flash of light, a whoosh of energy somewhere nearby. Then, hoofbeats on the planet's grim surface, in a strange rhythm. Thor raises his head and stares towards the cave's entrance. Natasha and Clint back into the cavern, weapons pointed at the approaching figure. A golden-haired woman on a huge gray horse, flanked by two massive black ravens.

"Mother!" Thor calls. And then roars to his allies, "Lower your weapons!"

The three do so, and all the Avengers give Thor and the woman puzzled glances. The god runs up to the horse.

The woman drops down from her steed with an elegance that makes Tony stare. Her-her husband's-ravens flutter to where the charred snake lies and begin to pick at its flesh. Clint aims an arrow at one, but then thinks better of it and turns back to the others, who are staring at the woman and the horse.

"That horse has eight legs," Steve observes, unnecessarily.

"No shit," Natasha mutters.

"Yes! And quite a fine beast he is!" Thor says, slapping the stallion on the shoulder. Sleipnir shakes his head in approval, pawing at the ground with a pair of massive hooves.

"You gonna explain who this lady is?" Tony demands, in a tone that momentarily alarms Thor with its disrespect. But this goddess has no intentions of being offended.

"My friends, this is my mother, wife to the All-Father and queen of Asgard."

And the human heroes realize again the power and awe that had inspired long-ago peoples to take these figures as gods.

"Now show me to my son," she orders, her voice full of all the authority of her rank.

Thor walks with her while the others stare. Frigga wipes the blood from Loki's face and says things in a language the Avengers cannot understand. Then she calls over her horse. Thor takes Loki under the arms and heaves him up off the rock, and together the Asgardians place him on the horse. Loki grabs at Sleipnir's mane, seemingly still in shock at the rescue.

"Let us leave," Frigga says, and leads them into the tunnel. The Avengers look at each other, and silently follow.

~o~

Bruce is the first to see, watching the broken man who was once his enemy and wondering for the thousandth time about the resilience of the Asgardians. The others notice, of course, but it is so strange as to hardly register. It is so strange they would never speak of it, now or ever, but Loki is crying, in relief, in shock, in confusion.

~o~

_Far away from the prison planet a ship of alien commanders receives the message with alarm. Their revenge for their ally's failure is incomplete. He has escaped. _

_Their master knows. Their master is not pleased. _

~o~

Author Note: Hope you're enjoying the story! Sorry this chapter took so long to post. Thanks to my pre-readers: orchidbreezefc, mochironnai, and mangaluva. There's probably two more chapters to come. Thank you all for your reviews, I love every one!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

_He has grown tired of waiting. The Chitauri warlords bargained with another force to save their quest. __It is time to take that bargain into his own hands. These new mercenaries may have found the escaped trickster, may have put him to a suitable fate, but they promised eternal imprisonment and must amend their failing. He demands one fleet of the warriors-that is all they will give and all he will need. _

_First, to bring Loki and his rescuers to his own domain..._

~o~

"Thor, buddy? You wanna try again? Cause this doesn't look like Earth."

The Avengers stare around at the dark sky, the dusty rock, the crumbling cliffs. And the horizon of dead stone, so close on such a tiny world. This place seems to bleed malice. Even the two ravens, flying circles above Loki, seem uncomfortable.

"You are correct. It is not." Thor hefts Mjolnir into his hands and flips it over, examining the surface.

"We should not be here. This is a dark place, a land of the dead," Frigga says into the cold air.

"We cannot travel now. The magic will not work so soon," Thor warns.

"Well, we're alive. That's a plus," Bruce says, "Are we all here? No offense, Thor, but I'm not sure about the reliability of travel-by-hammer."

"I understand. One must be sure of his alllies' safety."

Tony points to them all in turn. "Me, Cap, Widow, Archer Boy, Science Man, God with a magic hammer, his evil brother, a freaky spider horse, and the queen of Narnia. That's everyone."

"What is Narnia? Is it a good thing?" Thor asks. Frigga touches his arm and he stops.

Sleipnir paws the ground uneasily. On his back, Loki stirs. "We must leave," he says quietly, struggling to talk, "This is _his_ world. He will kill us all."

"And who would that be?" Steve asks.

"His messenger! There!" Loki cries, looking fearfully to a shrouded figure at the bottom of a cliff who was not there a moment ago. The team snaps into battle position, weapons aimed at this strange arrival. The mysterious alien takes no notice of this.

"You would do well not to interfere with my master's matters," he says, voice rumbling through the rock.

"Great," Tony grumbles, and then says to the messenger: "Sorry, we're not interested, Your Creepiness."

Either he does not recognize the insult or he decides to ignore it. "My master is losing patience. Give me the failed trickster. He is ours."

"We will not!" Thor speaks before the alien has even finished his statement.

"You do not wish to face the Lord of Death." It's a threat.

"Lord of- Jeez, these aliens are just getting more and more megalomaniac, aren't they?" Tony comments. Natasha glares at him.

"Focus, Stark!" she snaps.

The Asgardians are more alarmed by the threat than the humans; Thor tightens his grip on the hammer, and Frigga steps forward to speak.

"Asgard does not bargain with infernal forces!" she declares, followed by the Captain: "And neither does Earth."

The figure, silent, fades smoothly out of sight, a hint of blue glow lingering a moment under the black hood. The Avengers remain poised, waiting for the enemy's next move.

"Mother," Thor says, "Watch Loki. Keep him out of the battle. Safe."

"I can't believe we're doing this," Natasha mutters.

"Captain, let me just say I am not interested in becoming part of an intergalactic justice team," Clint adds.

"Trust me, I'm not planning on it."

The air hums with energy as spaceships fall into sight, their lights like threatening stars. The same fanged, saucer-shaped destroyers that had come to Earth to take Loki. At the same time, disk-shaped devices rise from the dust and rocks. All, apparently, intent on destruction.

~o~

Tony flies below the ships, punching rockets out of the air. For advanced alien technology, they're remarkably easy to disarm, but he doesn't take the time to question that. The more threats that his blasters can destroy, the better. A few rockets escape his defense, hitting the ground in bursts of flame and metal.

He notes the Hulk down on the surface, guarding Frigga and Sleipnir, growling at the battlecraft, crushing the wing of one unfortunate ship when it flies into his reach. The things are small, the size of cars. Thor flies up to attacks them from above, using his hammer to break whatever he can, leaping from ship to ship as they fall from the air. Cap's monitoring the attack patterns, yelling warnings in Tony's ears. At least the comms still work out here. He's only getting limited data from Jarvis; without any sort of outside network the AI knows about as much as he does. Steve

Widow and Hawkeye are taking on the disk-things. A few of Natasha's bullets destabilize a machine's levitation; it shakes, sparking, and buries itself in the rocky ground. She quickly refines her tactics and is soon taking them down with one shot each. Clint's shooting down disks as well, targeting the high-flying ones trying to sneak past.

Suddenly the ships above Tony stop shooting. Creaking sounds come from deep inside the metal craft.

"They're changing their missiles! Setting up a different load!"

"How do you know?" Steve demands.

"I know weapons!"

As if to prove his point, a rocket slams into the ground. The explosion is somehow different, the rock shuddering and splitting at the impact.

"Iron Man, you better pay attention, I think they're trying to blow up this whole place!" Clint yells over the comm. Behind him, Sleipnir rears up in alarm-and there's no sight of Loki anywhere.

"Guys! Loki's gone!"

"He can't be doing much, not in his condition. We'll deal with that later." Steve flings his shield over his head and a rocket ricochets off the surface. "Listen to me, this is really bad. If they hit this rock right, we're all dead."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" Tony crows.

"_Which means,_ they're gonna try to shoot at the same spot-"

"-until this asteroid breaks up," Natasha finishes.

Tony swears and blasts another rocket. "I think they're doing this blind. Most of them can't see where they're shooting, or they'd've got us already. This one guy seems a bit smarter, but they're running out of ammo."

"Keep that ship busy!" Steve orders, then leaps back as the creaking rock splits nearly under his feet. He turns to get an idea of the extent of the crack. And sees Loki standing beside the widening crevice.

"What the hell is he doing?" Natasha screams, noticing at the same moment.

"Get him away from there!" Thor leaps down from a smoking battleship. And then there are no more rockets, Tony's saying something about empty missile bays, and the ships are vanishing one by one into space. All except for the one he'd been tracking. The intelligent one.

"Shit! This is coming at you!" The rocket has slipped away from anywhere his weapons could catch it, and it plummets towards the broken rock. Right at the widest point, and it hits in a groundshaking blast, Frigga screams for her son-and the rock is silent, solid. There is a shimmer of light where the rocket hit and the illusions disappear; there is no sign of the split in the planet's surface, no sign of Loki. And beside the Queen of Asgard, Loki collapses to the rock, his magic exhausted.

~o~

_And the hired killers vanish, unwilling to suffer more losses. They have given as they promised, one fleet. It is not worth the fight. The Lord of Death has other battles; one pathetic godling can escape his notice. _

~o~

"Okay, that was just too _weird_ for me to handle right now," Tony announces to the group at large, "so I'm going to focus on A, there's nobody shooting at us, and B, we're all alive. Magic shenanigans can wait until we're back on Earth and I have a martini in my hand."

They've gathered together, glad the battle is over. Thor is supporting a de-Hulked Bruce on his shoulder. Frigga sits by Loki, holding his head; he's alive but unresponsive. Sleipnir leans down and nudges him affectionately with a black nose, and the queen pats the horse.

"He's...he's safe," she tells him, tears melting into the horse's mane.

"Saved us, I think," Steve says. He crouches down next to Frigga. "Everything's going to be fine, ma'am. And the sooner we get back home, the better. Thor?"

Thor nods and raises the hammer

Clint moves to take Bruce's arm; the doctor smiles weakly and steps away from Thor.

A whirlwind engulfs them all, the dust of the dark planet their last sight of the battlefield.

~o~

_It is a feeling unfamiliar to him, rarely felt in centuries of exclusion and discontent. He never had a reason before, not while facing the taunts and weapons of Aesir he did not yet know he was not kin to. And after filling all corners of his mind with hatred, after his memories and intent were warped with fear and anger, it is a surprise that he cannot help but feel gratitude. His fool hero brother and Earth's defenders brought him from an unbearable fate. He'd be damned to show it, of course, to give any sign of being in their debt, but the feeling is there and he cannot do but dwell on it. _

~o~

Tony and Clint look up from a set of weapons plans at the sound of Thor entering the room. Natasha glances at him and looks back at the SHIELD profiles on her screen. Steve isn't in the room; he's trying to find somewhere in the Tower that can support a horse for a few hours.

"So? How's it going, big guy?" Tony asks.

"Loki is awake, and recovering." Thor looks distant for a moment, then continues, "Mother is speaking with him..."

"We're not looking to get involved in your family issues, Thor," Clint says when the god begins to sound uncomfortable with the discussion.

"And how is your brave doctor?" Thor turns to look at Bruce, who is sitting reading a newspaper with a bowl of blueberries.

"Doing fine, Thor, no need to worry," Bruce replies.

"We shall be departing soon. I do not know when I may return to your fine home"

"None of us know when we're doing anything. Spy organizations work like that," Natasha tells him.

There's an awkward silence for a few moments where nobody knows quite what to say, then Steve walks out of the elevator.

"Found a spare garage. I've asked Jarvis to keep an eye on Sleipnir." He pulls a bottle of soda from his stash next to Tony's extensive liquor collection and takes a seat at the bar.

"I will go and see him. He is a most loyal steed," Thor says.

"Jarvis, can you show Thor where the spider horse is?" Tony calls to the ceiling. The AI agrees and leads Thor into the elevator while the rest of the team minus Bruce gravitate to the alcohol.

Natasha walks up to the bar, chooses a drink, and sits next to Clint. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to be the one to tell Fury what we were up to."

"I'll deal with the Director," Steve says, "We shouldn't be lying. I'm sure there's something positive that can come out of this."

Tony gives him a look over his martini glass. "We just rescued the guy who tried to blow up our city from a bunch of aliens, fought said aliens, and met an eight-legged horse. How is that in any way useful to SHIELD?"

"We'll think of something."

Tony pours himself another drink.

~o~

**End notes: Well, that's my first Avengers story finished! It was fun. Difficult at times, but worth it. I'd love to hear your thoughts! I'm also going to get an account on AO3 at some point in October, but I'll continue to post here. Given the attention this story got, I'm going to start working on some new Avengers fics. It might be a while before anything new is posted due to school stuff, but I'll try! **

**Thanks again to my pre-readers: Orchidbreezefc, Mangaluva, Mochironnai, Dalekcat, and Taylorphantom.**


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